As a success-seeker herself, Key Acanto also desires to inspire and motivate other people by sharing her insights and knowledge about self-development. She is a Scoopfed editor and as one, she always faces challenges with an open-mind. You can connect to her through her LinkedIn account.

]]>Do you strive for excellence?

It can’t be denied that most of us strive for excellence. With our desire to be the best, we tried hard enough to juggle work, family and our own life. It is not uncommon to see people wrestle with every aspects of life just to get the most out of it. As human being, it is in our nature to believe that to be the best we have to deal with everything about life. We believe that we have to excel and be perfect in all fields of life. We are driven by the thought of perfectionism and because of that we failed to see the true meaning of being the best.

Striving For Excellence vs. Striving For Perfection

Excellence is far too different from perfectionism and yet many people believe that striving to be perfect means striving to be the best. To strive to be perfect is like doing everything and yet not achieving anything. On the other hand, striving for excellence is focusing your skills and talents into something which can help you achieve your goals. Perfectionism is unattainable while “to be the best” is just within your reach.

Excellence is simply to be THE BEST THAT YOU CAN and not to be the best in everything. Here are the three C’s that will help you achieve the best version of yourself.

Confidence

These days, it seems that confidence is running out of supply. A lot of people don’t believe in themselves. According to researches, 62% of girls feel insecure about themselves and 51% thought that boys have lower self-confidence when it comes to their body image. When it come to trying things out it seems that most people lack confidence with themselves which hold them back to do their best.

Confidence plays an important role in building one’s personality. In our society, we have to be well-aware that self-confidence affects the way others see us as a person and more importantly how we see ourselves. We cannot exude our inner strength unless we learn to build self-confidence. But what really is self-confidence and how can we develop it within ourselves?

Self-confidence is defined as one’s belief that he can do the things he is supposed to do. A person with self-confidence knows what and where he is good at and knows his value. It is often confused as arrogance although these two are distinctively different. A self-confident person knows what he can do based on his ability, skills and past experiences while an arrogant person has high-beliefs that he can do certain things even if he lacks abilities, skills and experiences. Over-assessment of self means arrogance while self-assessment based or closed to reality is self-confidence.

Boosting self-confidence is not as complicated as most people think. By simply living healthy you can boost your confidence. Additionally, positive outlook can fuel confidence; you also have to learn how to handle pressure and stress well that it will not affect your capacity to think well and decide smarter.

Concentration

One way to fully harness your skills and talents is to find the balance between life and work. But you can never be successful in finding work-life balance unless you know how to stay focus towards what you truly want to achieve that is why your concentration on things that really matters is very important. But how can you find focus in your life?

Here’s a fact: Life is full of distractions. Wherever you go, whatever you do, distractions will always be present and it might pose a challenge on how you maintain focus on what really matters. Focus is very difficult to attain for a person whose mind wanders in so many things. You can never make use of your ability to their best if you are distracted.

The primary step you need to do to develop a focus mind is to determine your priorities. Sure, there might be so many things to worry about, so many things you need to do and 24-hours a day, 7-days a week is not enough to cover it all. But the question is; do you really have to do it all? Weigh things out. Assess what are the things that matters which needs your attention. Once you have sort things out, you can put your concentration to one task at a time. If it is possible you can delegate less important things to other people are willing to help you.

When you improve your focusing ability, you have greater chance in achieving balance in your life which can motivate you to be a better person.

Courage

Change is constant. Cliché as it is but true and this can post a challenge to most of us. We fear change, we fear to do something new and we fear to go out of our comfort zone. But in this world, we only got two options; adapt or die. Thus, we have to summon the courage within us to face the changes that comes along the way.

Courage is considered to be one of the greatest foundations that build a person’s personality. When you have courage, it means you have the attitude to never back down whatever the adversity and challenges are. The journey “to be the best that you can be” is never easy. For sure, there would be road blocks and hurdles but you can never surpass the challenges if you don’t have enough courage to face it. Remember, overcoming your fear can shape you to become a better person in the future.

Wrapping Up

Let’s face it; seeking for the best version of ourselves takes a lot of effort. However, we must understand that it is not about getting the most of everything. It is about making use of what we have to be the best. And once we have learned how to leverage the skills and talents we have to make us a better person, it can be a rewarding feeling that will fuel us to do more.

Author information

Key Acanto

As a success-seeker herself, Key Acanto also desires to inspire and motivate other people by sharing her insights and knowledge about self-development. She is a Scoopfed editor and as one, she always faces challenges with an open-mind. You can connect to her through her LinkedIn account.

]]>“Books are the plane, and the train and the road.They are the destination, and the journey. They are home”- Anna Quindlen

Endless pages and infinite words have been written on how reading can transform the way you look at the world. Books inform, educate, inspire, transport you to a different era, unfurl countless fantasies, excite your imagination and are something that can never grow old. Of the countless pieces of literature that you can pick, there are a few masterpieces that you simply cannot afford to miss.

Whether you are a novice looking for some suggestions or already an avid reader, here are 20 books that you should read before you die:

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

]]>There are a lot of things in life that people just don’t think about. We love telling people what we do and what we’re interested in, but most of the time, we have a hard time explaining who we really are. Some say that they’re passionate and full of life but have very little proof of it. Some still think twice when asked what their life mission and goals are, while some have very little to say when asked where they see themselves a good five or ten years from now.

All this comes from an evident lack of knowledge about oneself. Yes, we know the basics. We can say “I love puppies” or “I choose wine over beer” without even blinking our eyes. But do you truly know what drives you, what gives you that spark, what adds fuel to your fire? This is where the importance of defining your personal core values come in.

The Importance of Defining Your Core Values

What are your core values? Values are the things that you apply to your everyday life. They’re a mix of beliefs and principles that shape how you live your life, how you make decisions, how you relate with others, and so on. It gives you a clearer understanding of who you really are as a person and helps you say and do things without having to justify each move to others.

This is why your core values are important. It somehow allows you to take charge of your life and set the standards by which you are going to live by.

How to Define Your Personal Core Values

So how do you define your core values? There are little clues here and there and the key is to pay closer attention to how you react to each stimulus presented to you. These are the most important questions that you should ask yourself:

What shapes my behavior?

What am I passionate about?

What motivates my achievements?

You also have to understand that there is a very big difference between the things you like and the things you are passionate about. You may like basketball, but you may not be passionate enough about it to make a career out of it. You may like painting, but it’s something that you’re willing to set aside when something else that you need to do comes along.

Springing Into Action

So have you figured out your personal core values yet? If you haven’t, there’s no better time to start than now. Here’s a challenge that would allow you to discover what your values really are.

Grab a pen and paper and find a quiet space where you could think. Answer the following questions in great detail:

What are my three greatest accomplishments?

What are my three greatest moments of efficiency?

Now compare the two sets of answers and find common denominators between the two. Take note of these common aspects and then move on to the next set of questions:

What are my three greatest failures?

What are my three greatest moments of inefficiency?

Once again, compare these two sets and try to find common aspects between them.

Now that you have two sets of factors to consider, try to write yourself a brief message based on each of them. You can say, “Choose careers that allow you to travel all the time because this is where you excel the most” or “Never go binge drinking the night before a meeting even if it’s your boss prodding you to do so”.

Next, trim these statements down. The first one, you can label as “exploration” and the second one, “moderation”. These will be a temporary list of values that you may want to adopt.

Of course, this is not the end of it. You still have to see if all these values truly work for you. For each of the values you’ve listed, think of situations where the value could actually do more harm than good. A good example would be the value of innovation. It’s definitely a great value that allows people to step out of the mold and create their own trends instead of following what everybody else is doing. However, if you’re the kind of person who takes a long time to adjust to something new, then innovation may not always be the best route for you to take. So that’s one word that you’re going to have to cross out.

Now that you have a shortlist, look at it and see how much that inspires you. Savor each word and think about how far these words could take you. Once you feel the adrenaline pumping and your spirit awakening, then you know for a fact that you’ve brought your life a whole new meaning. You’ve finally established your own set of core values.

Author information

Igor Ovsyannykov

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

]]>Everybody has a dream. When you were still a kid, you probably dreamed of fighting space pirates or riding a unicorn over a rainbow. As you grew older, your dreams changed as well—leading you to dream of becoming a doctor, a fireman, or a teacher. Do you still remember your dreams? Are your dreams the same as they were, and have you taken the steps needed to achieve them?

You can still live the life that you’ve always wanted. It’s never too late. And if you find yourself backing out of it, here are a few good reasons why you should stay strong and pursue your dreams:

It gives you something to live for.

It happens to everybody. You open your eyes in the morning and then you find yourself thinking of a million excuses not to get out of bed. You drag yourself towards the shower, load your system with tons of caffeine just to give you enough energy to even start thinking straight. Obviously, you aren’t living the dream. Once you start going for your dreams, you have something solid to live for – something that would make you leap out of bed and find purpose in getting up, no matter how challenging each day may be.

It builds character.

No dream is easy to fulfill – otherwise, it is not a dream, but an ordinary task. Dreams stretch your boundaries and tests your limits, and will even lead you to your breaking point every now and then. Through all this, you will emerge with an even stronger character, polished to perfection because of the heavy beating and grinding that you’ve been through.

It helps you stay youthful.

There’s a very good reason why kids have the wildest dreams. It’s because their imagination has no limits and they are not yet bound by the restrictions that society too often imposes on our lives. When you pursue your dreams, this also means that you commit to doing so even if you would be going against social norms. It means that you get to become almost child-like again, free to carve your own path no matter how ridiculous it may seem to other people.

It makes you positive.

People whose dreams have died often end up having a lot of negative energy within them. It is your decision whether you would let those dreams live on. It is important also to remember that choosing to go for your dreams can easily flush all the negativity out of your life. Yes, there will be challenges that would make you stumble and fall at times, but the passion that pushes you to go forward will wave off the negativity that may start crawling in during moments like these, and start adding more fuel to your fire.

It makes your life beautiful.

People build dreams not because they see misery and pain, but instead people build dreams because it is intended to make life beautiful. No matter how comfortable your life may be today, it will never compare to the beauty and glory that you will see once your dreams are fulfilled.

It allows you to inspire people.

Your dream may not be something that would shatter the world out of amazement. It may not be as groundbreaking as the work of someone who just won the Nobel Prize. But remember this: the mere fact that you had the courage to go against the odds and make your dream become a reality, that’s enough to inspire someone to do the same thing. And just like that, you may have changed a person’s life for the better.

It empowers you to prove people wrong.

No matter how small or big your dream may be, there would always be naysayers who would think of every possible reason why you shouldn’t go for it. Sadly, a lot of people let go of their dreams because of all this negativity. Instead of letting your dreams go, work even harder for it. Nothing beats the satisfaction of proving people wrong, especially when they have kept on saying that you would never be able to do it.

It saves you from regret.

How many old people have admitted that they have had so many regrets in life? Do everything that you can to follow your dreams while you have the capacity to do it. Live your dreams now or forever carry the burden of regret.

It makes the people around you proud.

All the people who stayed behind you all the way will finally have a chance to celebrate your ultimate achievement. Whether they are friends or family, you can finally give them the chance to be truly proud of what you have accomplished.

It makes you proud of YOU!

And yes, if other people are proud of how far you’ve gone, nobody else could be prouder than you yourself. This is one thing that would boost your confidence and make you know and believe that you can do anything you set your eyes on! Now, you can build even bigger dreams and know that nothing is stopping you from making them real.

Remember that your dreams have the power to shape who you are. And because you build your own dreams, following them allows you to even shape your own destiny.

Author information

Igor Ovsyannykov

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

Named a 100 Top Thought Leader by Trust Across America, Nan Russell is the author of four books including: Trust, Inc. and The Titleless Leader. Her work insights column appears in numerous publications and she blogs for PsychologyToday.com on the topic of “Trust: The New Workplace Currency.” Prior to pursuing a life dream to write, Nan spent 20 years in management, in roles transforming a corporate culture to heading a new subsidiary. Her career took her from a minimum wage employee to Vice President of multibillion dollar QVC. Today, she is an award winning author, speaker, and President of MountainWorks Communications.

]]>“Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running.” Those words from Olympic swimmer and author Sarah Connor capture the essence of a skill those wanting to thrive in the new world of work need.
We live in a world with constant interruptions, interesting internet rabbit holes to explore, and mobile apps to try. There’s more information than we can possibility absorb, consider, and read; more activities than we can ever do in a lifetime. Thriving in today’s world requires us to self-manage, or we can drown in a sea of busyness, with our time used up and our results minimal.
There is plenty to keep us busy – we know that. But, people who are winning at working know how to self-manage that busyness from the inside-out around their needs, desires, challenges, talents, and aspirations. They understand the choices they make determine the results they get.
Self-managing people display common sense, but also uncommonly practiced behaviors that enable them to be winning at working. Here are 10 examples:

1. They know what they want and work towards achieving it, using the power of incremental progress.
2. They embrace learning, personal growth, and well-being. They compete with themselves, working to improve who they are, what they can do, achieve, or contribute.
3. They’re worthy of trust; they’re dependable, reliable, and consistently good to their word. If they say they’ll do it, they do it, or tell you ahead that they can’t.
4. They set boundaries for themselves, making time for what matters to them while understanding that life’s ebbs and flows can change their priorities.
5. They operate from the inside out with self-managing essentials such as self-trust, enhanced awareness, self-direction, and reflective choices.
6. They invest time in fixing the problem, training the new person, figuring out new or better ways, and “stopping the bleeding” before moving forward.
7. They do what needs to be done, whether they like the task or not.
8. They’re self-motivated and engaged, with what others might call “drive” or “passion.” They want to make a difference with their work and life.
9. They’re contributors to the common good, not myopically self-focused, with a “big” team mentality; they help and assist others, build strong relationships, and share their knowledge and talents willingly.
10. They use, enjoy, and invest their time thoughtfully. They have a make-it-happen mindset and are highly productive.
Self-managing people who are winning at working do, while others talk of doing. They plan their day, while others let their day plan them. They motivate themselves, while others wait for someone or something to motivate them. They know the results they get are not about the time they have, but the choices they make in how they use it.
If you want to be winning at working and thrive in today’s crazy, busy world, the next essential skill you need to learn is the art of self-management. I hope this article has helped you. Good luck on your journey!

Author information

Nan Russell

Named a 100 Top Thought Leader by Trust Across America, Nan Russell is the author of four books including: Trust, Inc. and The Titleless Leader. Her work insights column appears in numerous publications and she blogs for PsychologyToday.com on the topic of “Trust: The New Workplace Currency.” Prior to pursuing a life dream to write, Nan spent 20 years in management, in roles transforming a corporate culture to heading a new subsidiary. Her career took her from a minimum wage employee to Vice President of multibillion dollar QVC. Today, she is an award winning author, speaker, and President of MountainWorks Communications.

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

]]>They say that happiness is just a state of mind, while others believe that it is a lifestyle one embraces. Regardless of what you believe it to be, you can’t deny the fact that happy people and unhappy people are worlds apart. It’s not just about appearances; it’s the kind of aura that happy people have that just draws you in and makes you wonder: what do these people do? What makes them so happy that they radiate so much positive light?

1. Acceptance of things that cannot be changed.

There is so much in this world that you cannot control, no matter how hard you try. Learning how to accept this fact is something that happy people have mastered. After all, it is not only draining to lament and rant over the fact that life is sometimes unfair. It is also a pointless practice, with your frustration only building up for nothing.

2. Controlling their future.

Happy people are not bound by the usual norms that society follows. It is often the happiest people who do not care about the trends or the latest beliefs that other people set. They control what they do and refuse to let anybody or anything take this control away from their hands. They live their lives for a future they have shaped on their own, and not for what other people say their future should look like.

3. Telling the truth.

People who lie are often the unhappiest people who ever lived. They spend so much time worrying about which lies they told to which people, and how to make everything seem like the truth. Happy people save themselves from all this trouble. They simply tell the truth, no matter how ugly it could be.

4. Less clutter.

Too much clutter clouds the mind. This is something that you realize when you feel how relaxing it is to live out in the open and compare it to the feeling of being in a stuffed city apartment. This is why happy people often have fewer possessions. They know that material things, which they don’t really need to survive, will only weigh them down and the lack of it will leave so much space for them to unwind and focus on happiness.

5. Healthy living.

Not a lot of sick people are happy. In living healthy, you do not only make your body better, you also make your mind clearer and more active. Good food and regular physical activity also releases your happy hormones without the need to take in chemical-based medicine that claim to make you happy.

6. Meditation.

Nobody is perfect, and even happy people go through tough times. It’s the way that they deal with it that makes them different. Meditation is one thing that could help you unload all the bad vibes and go back to your normal state of being happy.

7. Building relationships.

Happy people know how to socialize and understand that they need other people to survive. Taking the time out to make memories with friends, family, and loved ones would always be an important part of a happy person’s to-do list, making sure that not too much time passes by without reaching out to the people they care about.

8. Choosing relationships.

Although building relationships is important, happy people also know that they also need to choose who to build relationships with. Having a million acquaintances will not even compare to having just a few real friends who will give you the right piece of advice when you need it the most.

9. Avoiding comparison.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, so why compare it with others? This is something that happy people understand and apply to the way they live. Feeling that you are better than someone else will alienate people away from you, while feeling that other people are better than you will lessen your sense of self-worth. Staying in the middle and accepting that you are unique as a person will allow you to appreciate everyone around you and give praise and encouragement where it is needed the most.

10. Enjoying the present.

Unhappy people spend so much time regretting the past and worrying about the future. Happy people understand that the present is something that they can control and enjoy to the fullest. They don’t rush through a crowded street; they walk and breathe in the different sights. They don’t rush through every meal; they savor the flavor that comes with each bite.

11. Never making excuses.

When something goes wrong, unhappy people would always find other people to blame and make excuses for the part that they played. This only keeps you from moving on and grabbing the chance to make things better. Happy people show accountability and use the mistake to become better.

12. Finding the good in people.

Happiness is something that you show with the way you see other people. Unhappy people are always guarded and suspicious of people, making them miss the chance of establishing great relationships with great people. Happy people, on the other hand, find the good in every person they meet, allowing them to enjoy each experience.

13. Seeing problems as challenges.

A problem is not seen as an actual problem by a happy person. A happy person will call it a challenge, a lesson in progress, or even an opportunity. It will never be called as a problem because seeing it as such will make it seem hard and impossible to bear.

14. Letting the small stuff go.

The problems you experience now will be something that you’ll be laughing about a year from now. Because of this fact, happy people don’t dwell on the small stuff. Why spend hours, days, and weeks fretting over a simple thing when it can be forgotten in an instant?

15. Holding grudges.

If you can still remember every bit of detail of the wrong that one person has done to you a few years ago, then there’s no need to ask why you’re unhappy. Chances are, that person does not even spend a minute of his current life thinking about what happened, making the person in a happier state than you are. Let it go. It’s in the past. Nothing could change it, and there’s no sense for you to throw happiness away because of it.

Author information

Igor Ovsyannykov

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

Anna Wakeling is a content writer for e-commerce print companies Signazon.com and EasyBanners by day, and a coffee-loving nerd and aspiring book editor by night. Check out more of her work on her blog!

Latte & Flavored Coffee

Enjoying milky, novelty-flavored coffee is a good sign that you’re a comfort-seeker and people-pleaser, always ready to help and be friendly. The downside of this is that you can be indecisive and tend to overextend yourself in an effort to help everyone. Following the crowd comes more easily to you than challenging the norm.

As you design, it can be hard to say no to the specifications of extremely particular clients. You may also tend to play it safe with your design and let others take more credit than they should in collaborative projects. While all of this may or may not result in substandard work, it can definitely rob you of your own voice and keep you from realizing your full creative potential. Because of your connection with people, you could bring unique insight to UI and UX design.

Espresso

You’re not here to sit around. You’re ready to go places, give orders, and get things done. While your honest opinions and no-nonsense approach are excellent qualities, you can come off as tough and moody. Also, the more extra shots you order, the safer it is to assume that you stayed up working way too late last night (and should not be bothered today).

There are several ways your aggressive approach can come through in your design. It’s probably hard for you to hear advice or criticism if your history of superior design has proven you one of the best in your field. “I work alone” is one of your favorite mantras, and the speed of your output can sometimes exceed the care necessary to get a project just right. Since working in teams can be more frustrating than productive for you, consider whether freelancing is currently feasible. You may find yourself having way more fun than you should!

Cappuccino

Enjoying a long talk with good friends comes second only to getting things right, especially on the job. You can be described as self-motivated and creative — the only problem is that your inner drive renders you incapable of letting yourself (or anyone else) achieve less than perfection.

Naturally, your desire for excellence can make you a ruthless critic, especially of yourself. This makes criticism from clients and other designers even harder to hear, especially when you know how much time you spent getting everything as perfect as you could. You probably favor very precise, symmetrical looks, so the gridded style of flat design is right up your alley.

Instant

Everyone else says it’s not real coffee, but you don’t care; you enjoy it. Your approach to life is probably more laid-back and cheerful than most. This can backfire on you when it’s crunch time and you persist in procrastinating until the very last minute.

You might work well under the gun, but it doesn’t mean you should. Clients will lose faith in you if they can tell you’ve been wasting time. Putting off projects can lead to the temptation to appropriate others’ work, with a few skillful twists and substitutions so you can call it your own. It would be more profitable to choose a field like typographyor web design. These let you work on a small set project (one letter or site page) at a time, instead of saving it all in a lump for the night before the deadline.

Black

You’re a purist. It didn’t exactly take rocket science to reach that conclusion. Simplicity and minimalism are your preferred aesthetics in design — as well as in life. Like the espresso drinker, you can tend to be moody, single-minded, impatient with foolishness, concise, and direct in your approach.

Minimal design is best for you, since you already see right to the heart of things and know which nonessentials to eliminate. Just don’t fall into the trap of working entirely alone or copying other minimal designers too closely, which is easy to do when there are so few elements to work with. Interaction design also plays into what you do, as it’s your job to figure out how few components your project can contain while still being intuitive and usable.

Soy, Viennese, & Other Special Orders

You’re the opposite of the black-coffee aficionado in many ways. You probably scruple over other decisions as much as you do with your coffee order, making sure everything is as healthy and efficient as it can possibly be. This wins you the affectionate title of “high-maintenance.” It doesn’t concern you too much that your complicated order is holding up the line; anything worth doing is worth doing right. (Though it’s still not completely right unless the coffee shop is European.)

Like espresso and cappuccino drinkers, you probably have a high opinion of your own designs because of your meticulous attention to detail and insistence on quality. If you’re a design thinker, you’re also very evangelistic about your design philosophy. Just remember that others’ viewpoints are valid too. With your design abilities and the ease with which you orchestrate situations, art direction would be a good fit for you.

Frappuccino & Iced Coffee

Life’s too short to obsess over calories, so you go for the delicious frozen treat more often than might be wise. Friends would describe you as bold, trendy, and spontaneous. Youth is the best time of your life, and you want to live it up! However, your sense of adventure can border on recklessness.

Your fearless approach to design keeps you willing to try new things, even after multiple rejected projects. You believe that like Einstein, the only way to achieve success is to keep being creative until you hit a genius idea. That would make graphic design a good field for you, where you can fully unleash your wild side. The only problem with being such a free spirit is that you have deadlines, as well as internal limits governing how many simultaneous projects you can do well. You may not always recognize these restrictions. That can get you in over your head.

Americano

Your approach to life is very businesslike. Get in and get out; no time for fancy orders or cloying syrup. Straightforwardness and tradition are the best way to do things. You probably drink your coffee while it’s still burning hot, too.

As a leader type, you are equally good at delegating team roles and working solo. This seemingly bizarre combination can lead to “your” final project actually being a collaboration between you and your team, but you get the credit because you organized everything. There’s nothing wrong with working that way, as long as you give a byline (and payment proportional to work done) to your hardworking team members. These traits would make you a good creative executive.

Mocha

You look chill on the outside, but there’s real drive hidden under your calm exterior. Two things that might be holding you back from striving to your fullest are your wariness of commitment and your love of chocolate flavoring.

Your restraint often carries over into your design work, meaning you don’t blow people away with your talents like you could if you let yourself. This especially affects visual design, where sometimes the consumer’s first glance will sell the product. Don’t be shy; don’t let others take any credit for the hard work that you did; and don’t be afraid to let your creativity loose. If you have your design principles down pat, but aren’t sure you want to let them loose on the world yet, consider easing into more creative projects by being the design editor. You’ll be exposed to many adventurous designs that will inspire your own work, while still being able to rein them in by correcting out-of-place elements.

Tea (Various)

Tea drinkers are typically calmer and less cutthroat than coffee drinkers, but that doesn’t make you any less determined to succeed — or any less particular about your tea. You just might not need such an intense caffeine jolt to get you going. You’re also aware of all the health benefits you get from your favorite beverage.

You may refuse to stress yourself out by obsessing over deadlines, or by getting in a rush when your client is impatient, but the quality of your work is excellent. Your thorough, critical eye would make you a great UI/web designer. Your quiet work can certainly make as much of a difference as you hope it will. Just make sure to keep your credibility intact by not going overtime, unless it’s absolutely necessary to achieve a stunning result on your project.

All of the above is not to say that designers always fit into a certain mold. You, as a designer, know better than anyone how unpredictable the creative world can be. Take the tips and characteristics above that you find helpful, and use them to guide you into a one-of-a-kind career — fueled by lots of your favorite beverage!

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Anna Wakeling

Anna Wakeling is a content writer for e-commerce print companies Signazon.com and EasyBanners by day, and a coffee-loving nerd and aspiring book editor by night. Check out more of her work on her blog!

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

]]>It’s so easy to be negative in a world where something wrong is bound to happen every turn you make. Being positive somehow becomes harder especially when you know that for each piece of happiness you find, one wrong move can make it all go away.

However, you should also remember that bad things happen everyday, even to the best kinds of people. This is why you only have two choices: stay negative and brace yourself for the bad that’s going to happen or be positive and sail through the bad things with less drama.

1. Find the good in the bad.

No matter how bad it looks, there is always a good side to everything. When you miss out on that promotion you’ve been eyeing, just be thankful that you won’t get a load of extra responsibilities just yet. When your car breaks down in the morning, be thankful that you have the chance to walk to work, which is something you haven’t done for the past how many months.

2. Look for lessons.

Every difficult situation has something to teach you. This is something that allows you to mature as a person. If you are always stressed out because of the difficult people at work, think about the patience that this is teaching you. When you see somebody else taking credit for your work, just be thankful that you have more values and would never have to stoop that low, and learn how to choose the people you trust next time.

3. Make your environment brighter.

Look at the place you live and the things you own. Are your shades always drawn? Is your home filled with clutter? Let the sunshine in and start giving yourself more space to move. Is everything you own black or gray? Why don’t you try going for something a little brighter next time. You don’t have to go for hot pink or bright orange. Whites would be just fine.

4. Surround yourself with happy people.

Yes, your environment would include the people around you. Ask yourself: who do I spend the most time with? Assess each of their personalities. Do I hear more negative from them than positive? The personality of the people around you will always rub off on you. Start hanging out with positive people more so that you can adopt their mindset as well.

5. Don’t rush things.

People think that when they do things quicker, they also accomplish more. What people do not realize is that more often than not, rushing things would heighten not only the level of stress but the possibility of things failing as well. Take time in everything that you do to add a higher level of quality in your output. Slowing down would also allow you to enjoy each step you take, decreasing the amount of stress that usually comes with anything that you do in a rush.

6. Stop imagining mountains.

No, that problem is not going to go away. But no, that problem is not impossible to solve either. Sometimes, people become negative because they make mountains out of molehills. It’s a bad moment, not a bad life. Did you miss out on lunch? There will be hundreds and thousands of other lunches to look forward to. Forgot your wallet at home? It’s not the end of the world. Remember that as long as it doesn’t kill you, it’s okay.

7. Let go of fears.

Fears are designed to hinder you from getting to whatever makes you happy. However, as long as you let your fears eat you up, you are never going to be happy. Are you in constant fear that your husband will eventually cheat on you? Well, he’s not cheating now and you’re wasting time trying to make things miserable for him that he might actually think about doing just that. Afraid that you’ll end up lonely? This will only make you latch onto unhealthy relationships, making your life even more miserable than it should be.

8. Spread positivity.

Even when you’re having a tough day, smile at that person next to you. Who knows, they might be going through something even worse than you. Plus, helping someone have a better day is a great way to brighten your mood, pushing that negative vibe even further away.

9. Sleep and eat better.

How can you be happy on a stomach full of junk and with dark circles under your eyes? Leave enough room for sleeping and choose healthier options when you eat. Less sickness, less to worry about, more happy thoughts.

10. Be conscious of everything that happens throughout the day.

You can actually control almost everything that happens throughout the day. Take advantage of these moments and leave the rest of what you can’t control. Make sure you are conscious of all the things happening around you so that you can make better choices and avoid the options that would set you up for failure.

Staying positive is the best option in a world that usually promises doom. After all, it’s your life. And no matter how bad they make it seem on TV, you’re the one living it so you might as well enjoy the ride.

Author information

Igor Ovsyannykov

Igor Ovsyannykov is a 23 year old geek, blogger, and designer. He mostly spends his time working here and sharing resourceful knowledge with others. He also enjoys weight lifting, hanging out with friends, and losing his mind to progressive house music. If you would like to reach him, send him an email to inspirationfeed@yahoo.com

Armed with a Master’s in Journalism and strong wanderlust, Julie Ellis set out to explore exotic places, financed by her freelance writing. She is now a regular blogger for Premier Essay and sells feature articles to English-speaking publications around the world.

]]>Literature is powerful! There are simply some novels, memoirs, poetry, and non-fiction literary works that impact our intellects, our emotions, and our values so much that we are significantly changed. As I consider the works that challenge my complacency, that inspire me to be a better person, and that speak to humanity in all of its greatness, its evil, and its resiliency, the following authors immediately flood my mind:

Chinua Achebe: My favorite work is Things Fall Apart, a work of cultural clash, and the inevitable devaluation of a culture when the dominant colonial one has its way. This work speaks to the supreme egotism of Judeo-Christian belief that Western culture is simply so superior it must be imposed on others at all costs.

Andre Aciman, an uprooted Egyptian Jew, in his iconic work, Harvard Square, takes a look at the American immigrant experience and the common ground that brings a Jew and a Muslim together in their pursuit of an “American” life.

C. Boyle: A novelist and short story writer who encapsulates the selfishness of the “Baby Boomer” generation, its impact on materialism and the toll it takes on our environment. World’s End is a “must read.”

Kang Chol-Hwan: Aquariums of Pyongyang is the first and most detailed account that the Western world has of life in North Korea, particularly in its labor camps. A chilling account of man’s inhumanity to his fellow earth dwellers!

Kathryn Harrison: In her autobiographical work, The Kiss, perhaps we gain a better understanding of the dismal dysfunction of family that leads to the evils of incest, rage, and guilt.

Duang Thu Huong: A Vietnamese Communist, Huong is, nevertheless profoundly critical of the current government, in all of its corruption and bureaucracy. Against this backdrop, her novel, No Man’s Land, addresses the universal themes of fate and duty vs. desire. Another work, Paradise of the Blind, actually earned her a 9-month stint in a Vietnamese jail! In all of her works, she consistently speaks to the hypocrisy of a government that mouths communism and yet embraces capitalism for the benefit a few at the “top.”

Benjamin Alire Saenz: “Coming out” at age 54 transformed this man’s life, and his works will transform ours. This American writer of novels, poetry and children’s book has become a voice of the LGBT community, as well as of those who have suffered the consequences of alcoholism and sexual abuse. Everything Begins is a definitive work that is timeless!

Floyd Skloot: Triumph over adversity is the key component that makes this author’s autobiographical works “live” for all of us. Revertigo, a trilogy of sorts, forces us all to look at the goal of achieving “balance” in our lives, and the metaphor of his very real bout with vertigo is both clever and inspiring.

Elie Wiesel: Among works related to Holocaust survival, Nightis definitive. It is not only a compelling narrative – it addresses loss of innocence and faith as a real phenomenon that anyone in the midst of adversity experiences. I could not put this one down!

Salmon Rushdie: The Satanic Verses has earned Rushdie a spot on a “hit” list of conservative Muslims, for his portrayal of Mohammed. But more than that, it is a story of alienation and multicultural failures that make our world a dangerous place in which to live!

Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carriedis the ultimate human story – its glory, its tragedy, its love and hate, its greatness and its downfalls. This series of short stories set during the Vietnam is universal in its themes.

Anne Carson: This Canadian poet encapsulates, in unforgettable verse, the full span of human desire – both material and spiritual, and touches chords within all of us about our values and belief systems.

Alan Paton: Cry, the Beloved Country is truly timeless, for it speaks to White privilege in all of its manifestations, even as it exists today in a myriad of subtleties. Written from the viewpoint of one of these White privileged, it has even greater impact!

Wallace Stegner: Crossing to Safety chronicles all of our lives – from the idealism of youth, through the “reality check” of middle adulthood and, ultimately, to the peace and acceptance of old age. What a beautiful portrayal of human passages!

Elias Chacour: This autobiographical work (Blood Borthers) chronicles the life of the author, a Palestinian Christian, from a happy child on the family fig orchard, through the expulsion of the family by the Zionists after World War II, life in refugee camps, his sojourn through monastic training, and ultimate return to Palestine to establish schools in which Christians, Muslims, and Jews could enroll and achieve reconciliation. This is a story of courage, forgiveness, and a hope for the future.

Like all lists of things, this one is quite personal. As you read these authors, however, my belief is that you will be inspired, motivated, and permanently changed!

Author information

Julie Ellis

Armed with a Master’s in Journalism and strong wanderlust, Julie Ellis set out to explore exotic places, financed by her freelance writing. She is now a regular blogger for Premier Essay and sells feature articles to English-speaking publications around the world.